Siegrun Macgilchrist said: “We were lucky to have Ali with us who is studying in Aberdeen but is also still a keen chess player. She was unlucky to play against Len who has improved tremendously over the last few years - retirement certainly helped him with his chess!”

Some players are also competing in the Ayrshire championship. Carrick players are Eric and Siegrun. They’ve both got 2/3. Eric beat a former Ayrshire champion in the 1st round and Siegrun got revenge on Robert Gourlay.